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APA-Accredited Doctoral Internship

Dear Prospective Applicant,

I genuinely appreciate your interest in the psychology internship training program at the Texas Woman’s University CAPS. At CAPS, the training staff believes the internship year is an integral part of professional development and we are pleased that you are considering our center for this very important milestone in your training.

In November 2016, TWU CAPS was re-accredited by the American Psychological Association for 7 years until 2023. The internship has been providing training to future psychologists for over 30 years, with an inaugural class in 1986. I’d like to share some unique highlights about our internship program.

Training is highly valued by all center staff and much attention is placed toward the development of interns. Supervision is a strength for our site and interns engagein approximately6 hours of supervision per week, including individual and group formats. As the only university counseling service internship in the country offered at a university primarily for women, interns have a unique opportunity to focus on women’s issues throughout the lifespan as well as other gender issues. Additionally, interns are able to work with a unique client population and experience richness in intersectionality throughout their caseload. They are often surprised at the diversity of their caseloads with regard to multiple identity variables including ethnic/racial identity, age, religion/spirituality, sexual orientation, etc. Interns also have the opportunity to supervise two practicum students during the year, which they commonly report as a highlight of their experience.

The CAPS Internship Program is based on the conviction that personal and professional development are mutually inclusive processes. The training staff is committed to providing an interpersonal/relational, supportive and thought-provoking environment where interns can increase their self-awareness and competencies. We are seeking candidates who are enthusiastic about their last formal training year and recognize the importance of the experience on their personal and professional development. We are also seeking candidates who are open with sharing their process, willing to engage in difficult dialogue, demonstrate the ability to explore their growth edges, able to own both strengths and limitations, have a sincere appreciation of multiculturalism and recognize that the development of competence is a lifelong process. Overall, we strive to provide a growth-enhancing environment where interns can challenge themselves with new experiences as well as receive reflections and feedback about their functioning to propel them toward further growth.

I want to provide you with a little more information about our program from the viewpoint of former trainees and their thoughts on how our training philosophy comes across in practice. Former interns report feeling that they were given the space to be themselves while also learning how their personal/professional identities impacted various roles such as the therapist, supervisor, supervisee, colleague, peer, outreach presenter, and other aspects of identity. They also frequently state that the training staff takes the supervisory process seriously and “do what they say they are going to do.” Additionally, they enjoyed the “energy” of the center. Caps' culture is one where people value authenticity and expression of self within a professional context. It is also a culture of sharing, collaboration, challenge, direct feedback, support, and transparency. We value the ability and comfort to be ourselves, however challenging, which parallels some of the work we ask our clients to engage in during the therapeutic journey.

I hope this letter has been helpful in your decision-making process regarding your application to our site. Please see our materials for specific application guidelines as well as the deadline for submission. If you have any questions about our program, please contact me at ccruz@twu.edu or (940) 898-3801. We recognize that searching for an internship can be a very stressful process, yet exciting. We wish you the best on your search and thank you again for your interest in what we have to offer.